Erethistidae

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Osteichthyes
Classis: Actinopterygii
Subclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Ostariophysi
Ordo: Siluriformes
Familia: Erethistidae
Genera: Ayarnangra - Caelatoglanis - Conta - Erethistes - Erethistoides - Pseudolaguvia

References

* Ng, H.H.; Kottelat, M. 2005: Caelatoglanis zonatus, a new genus and species of the Erethistidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Myanmar, with comments on the nomenclature of Laguvia and Hara species. Ichthyological exploration of freshwaters, 16: 13-22. ISSN: 0936-9902 Abstract
* Roberts, T.R. 2001: Ayarnangra estuarius, a new genus and species of sisorid catfish from the Ayeyarwaddy Basin, Myanmar. Natural history bulletin of the Siam Society, 49(1): 81-87. ISSN: 0080-9472

links

* Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2006. FishBase, version (02/2006). [1]

Erethistidae are a family of catfishes that originate from southern Asia.[2]

Taxonomy

This family includes species previously placed in Sisoridae.[2] They were removed because they were thought to be more closely related to the neotropical Aspredinidae than to the remaining sisorids due to a number of morphological characters.[3] However, it has been suggested that the erethistid catfishes be included back into Sisoridae.[4]

Distribution

Erethistids are found on the Indian subcontinent eastwards to western Thailand and northern Malay Peninsula.[5]

Description

Many of the members of this family are small, cryptically colored fishes with tuberculate skin.[5] Erethistids are distinguished from sisorids by having a pectoral girdle with a long coracoid process that extends well beyond the base of the pectoral fin; this structure can be felt through the skin in all genera and is visible externally in all genera except Pseudolaguvia. Erethistids differ from amblicipitids in that they lack a cuplike fold of skin in front of the pectoral fin (vs. possessing the cuplike fold), and have a dorsal fin with a strong spine and no thick covering of skin (vs. a weak spine with a thick covering of skin). Erethistids have nostrils close together, separated by a nasal barbel, which differs from akysids which have widely separated nostrils on each side of the head, with a barbel on the posterior nostril.[1] Some erethistids possess a thoracic adhesive apparatus formed by longitudinal skin folds densely covered with unculi that appears to be an adaptation to life in fast flowing waters; this closely resembles a similar structure in the sisorid Glyptothorax.[6]

References

1. ^ a b Thomson, Alfred W.; Page, Lawrence M. (2006). "Genera of the Asian Catfish Families Sisoridae and Erethistidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes)" (PDF). Zootaxa 1345: 1–96. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2006f/zt01345p096.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
2. ^ a b Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
3. ^ Diogo, R.; Chardon, M.; Vandewalle, P. (2003). "Osteology and myology of the cephalic region and pectoral girdle of Erethistes pusillus, comparison with other erethistids, and comments on the synapomorphies and phylogenetic relationships of the Erethistidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes)". Journal of Fish Biology 63 (5): 1160–1175. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00235.x.
4. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
5. ^ a b Ng, Heok Hee (March 2005). "Conta pectinata, a new erethistid catfish (Teleostei: Erethistidae) from northeast India" (PDF). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 16 (1): 23–28. http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief16_1_03.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
6. ^ Britzi, Ralf; Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2003). "A new species of the Asian catfish genus Pseudolaguvia from Myanmar (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes: Erethistidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa 388: 1–8. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2003f/zt00388.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-25.